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He visited Ukraine, with his mission focused primarily on restoring energy infrastructure and preparing the country for a fifth full-scale winter war.
‘No reason’
The day before, Mr De Croo visited the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and went inside the protective structure of Reactor Four, which was destroyed in 1986. He saw firsthand the damage caused by recent drone attacks.
“Anyone who attacks these protective structures – and the protective structures around nuclear structures – is literally gambling with the safety of millions of people.
“Nuclear installations can never be targeted. There’s really no excuse. There is absolutely no ambiguity. This has to stop,” That UNDP said the chairman.
According to Mr De Croo, the origin of the drone must be formally known through an investigation. At the same time, military personnel guarding the site told him that Russian drones flew over the facility every day.
“Whether it was a deliberate attack or an accident, this was something that was unacceptable. “Ensuring drones don’t fly over these locations is one way to prevent something like this from happening,” he said.
Increased solar power
During his visit to Chornobyl, the UNDP Chair also took part in the opening of a new solar power plant. The project is being implemented with support from Lithuania and Japan, in cooperation with Ukrainian authorities and with technical expertise from UN development agencies. The plant will supply electricity to Reactor Four’s cooling system.
Energy was one of the main focuses of Mr. De Croo. Over the past four years, UNDP has mobilized $1.3 billion to help Ukrainians, with restoration of the country’s energy system being its largest area of work.
Thanks to this support, 6.6 million people have access to electricity.
According to the UNDP chairman, the aim is not just to rebuild what existed before. Ukraine is gradually moving towards a more sustainable and decentralized energy system that is harder to take down with just one attack.
Electricity, he stressed, means more than just lighting people’s homes: schools, hospitals, water supplies and other essential services all depend on electricity.
However, about half of the country’s energy infrastructure has been impacted by Russia’s attacks, and the approaching winter is expected to worsen the situation.
“We are trying to do our best to help 6.6 million people. But it is clear that at this point, it is never enough,” Mr. De Croo admitted.
‘Frontlines are everywhere’
During his time in Kyiv, the UNDP chief constantly heard air raid sirens – sometimes at least once every two hours and throughout the night, he said.
During his visit, there were reports of attacks on bus stops, gas stations, food processing facilities and business centers near the hotel where he spoke.
“Previously the vanguard was in the East, now the vanguard is everywhere,” he said.
Admiration for the resilience of the Ukrainian people, he added, should not obscure the price they have to pay to live in such conditions.
“We always talk about resilience, but resilience does have limits,” said Mr De Croo.
Long term support
Despite the dangers, UNDP did not intend to delay reconstruction until after the war. However, rebuilding the country completely will take years.
According to the latest estimates by the World Bank and UN organizations, the cost of repairing war damage has exceeded $600 billion.
“Restoring infrastructure does not mean waiting for the end of the war. We have been restoring infrastructure since the beginning of this war, and despite the war, we will continue to do this,” said the UNDP chairman.
